Several hours ago, Syrian president delivered his first public speech in months, addressing the internal military conflict that has gripped his country, and whose key excerpts can be found here. In it he called for a "full national mobilisation" to fight against rebels he described as al Qaeda terrorists. "We meet today and suffering is overwhelming Syrian land. There is no place for joy while security and stability are absent on the streets of our country," Assad said in a speech at the opera house in central Damascus. "The nation is for all and we all must protect it." Assad once again blamed the west for provoking and "facilitating" the rebellion, which even the NYT admits is being orchestrated by Al Qaeda, which naturally begs the question: just what is Al Qaeda to the US and to its intelligence agencies - foe or ally? But while providing fodder for the pundits, the speech was largely irrelevant. What does merit attention is the follow up to the story from two weeks ago the Russia sent two squadrons of ship to Syria in mid-December. It appears they have arrived, and just in time to offset the positioning of NATO Patriot missiles along the Turkish-Syria border.

Russia has concentrated five landing ships in the eastern Mediterranean in a show of force meant to deter Western nations from intervening militarily in Syria, The Sunday Times quoted a Russian diplomat as saying.

According to the report, the ships are carrying military vehicles and hundreds of Russian marines, and are being accompanied by combat vessels.

Remember when the official party line was that ships are being sent to assist in the evacuation of Russian citizens? Looks like not even Russia is going with that anymore.

While officially Russia has claimed the ships have been deployed to partake in an exercise to "improve the management, maintenance and testing of the interaction of naval forces,” the Times quoted the diplomat as saying the marines were meant to deter the West from deploying ground forces in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

NATO has begun deploying Patriot missiles in Turkey in a bid to protect the country from the threat of war from neighbouring Syria, according to the US military's European Command (EUCOM).

EUCOM said in a statement on Friday that US military personnel and equipment were sent to Incirlik Air Base in southeastern Turkey to support NATO's Patriot battery deployment at Ankara's request.

Up to 400 troops are expected to be transported to Tukey within the week to operate two Patriot batteries supporting NATO's mission there. Additional equipment is scheduled to arrive by sea this month.

"The deployment of six Patriot batteries, including two each from Germany and The Netherlands, is in response to Turkey's request to NATO," EUCOM said in the statement issued from its offices in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart.

"The forces will augment Turkey's air defence capabilities and contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the Alliance's border," it added.

Yes, we too find it amusing when by de-escalation the US armed forces mean anything but.

Which then leaves the only open question: when?

“Russia should be prepared for any developments, as it believes the situation in Syria might reach its peak before Easter,” the Times quoted the diplomatic source as saying.

In other words, having been unable to convince the world that Iran is a terminal threat to "democracy" everywhere and the window of destroying its nuclear processing facilities now officially closed, and with both the Lebanon and the Gaza conflicts hibernating, the only loophole left to escalate the region is now Syria, where the event timeline now appears to culminate in 2-3 months.

Finally, let's not forget the US naval presence in the region, whose most recent update via Stratfor is shown below. Just need a few more US ships in the eastern mediterranean for things to get fun.

Well of course the insurrectionist forces are part of the allahkaduh that appears the West started and continues to support (with guns, etc) in it's revolutionary fervor to expand the Caliphate across the entirety of the MENA region ensuring a new and improved enemy for the long war.

This is not a mystery, hard to grasp or understand. In fact, the deep philosophical messages of early classic now repressed Bugs Bunny cartoons are far murkier...

if the u.s. had listened to general marshall and not supported the creation of israel all of this would not be happening.

even if the foreign policy of ike was still that of the u.s., the arabs would not be at war or near war with the west and fundamentalist islam would be a far weaker force. modernity has many charms but the utter israel first of u.s. (and to a lesser degree european) foreign policy negates it, especially combined with the brutality of israel.

Tijuana Donkey Show, It has been a hell of a long time ago, but I remember one drunken liberty when we headed from San Diego on liberty and ended up is some slease pit down in TJ and managed to catch act one of a real true to life TJ donkey show. Best be drunk out your mind to appreciate the performance. I thought all the talk onboard ship about these shows was BS, I was proven wrong. Amazing!

The snow village that peacefully existed on my bay window ledge for the past 30 days is no longer.Once I had heard they hated me for my freedoms (I know this because Fox News told me so), I decided to rain hell-fire down on their peaceful, isolationist heads.It’s now as if they had never existed.Being the victor in this conflict, I will take on the responsibility for writing the history books.It will be the official story so there will be ne no need to do any further research.

Not very good for a first speech I'm afraid. There was some bright spots, but overall I'd have to give him...an "F". Maybe he'll get better with time. Mass coersion is a finely tuned skill; he just needs more practice. Does Yale have a Syrian campus?

We have to wade through a sea of bullshit to get at any semblence of truth from the media. How about we quit killing people until we have a free and open information communication network. How can we know what action to take when we're being lied to?

As to your question about which course of action we should take, that presents a complex ethical dilemna.

If NATO goes in there, they will bomb the place with depleted Uranium weapons, which will cause infertility, miscarriages, birth defects and luekemia in children for an unknown amount of time into the future.

However, by depopulating this area, rather than allowing the populace there to continue to grow, NATO may prevent larger scale wars in the future, in which a larger number of hypothetical unborn people would die in these hypothetical future wars.

DU is used as a penetrator against armour and also for its secondary pyro-incendiary property, but primarily used against military vehicles via anti-armour missiles and anti tank rounds. It is not used at all in conventional bombs, as far as I'm aware (except maybe for a deep penetration anti-bunker weapon). Most militaries replace DU with gold or copper in shaped charge warheads.

DU is in fact far more often used as an armour material in tanks, due to its high density. But the health risks of DU are not from its radioactivity, which is actually low to negligible, but due to the fact that it is a heavy-metal that can turn into an oxidized dust.

But lead in bullets is also a heavy metal, and in lab testing if animals ingested lead oxide they suffered the very same symptoms as from ingesting DU oxide. the radiation is effectively irrelevant.

"According to that chart up there ^ from Stratfor, almost all our ships are In Home Port. Just sayin'."

What we can be sure of is the Russian, Chinese, Syrians and Iranians are all swapping info back and forth between them, and all know exactly where the US navy is, and also what each individual ship is doing, at every moment. If the US wanted to intervene they would have solid indications of it in advance. It appears they wont be. They've given up trying to intimidate Damascus with carrier air power and missiles. That didn't work and it isn't going to work. Lavrov said it very plainly about three weeks back, that the west has zero stomach for intervening directly in Syria. At best the foreign-backed rebels will get indirect support only.

It remains to be seen if the US is actually wanting to avoid a serious spiraling regional conflict. We'll soon see, from the disposition of US and NATO troops in Jordan and Turkey. Lebanon is waiting to see which way the wind blows and Iraq will be hoping like hell it defuses.

The fly in the ointment, as always, is Saudi extremism and their protracted funding of Al Qaeda. For which their leadership should already have been overthrown, and bought up on charges, and hung until dead. And if they get into a conflict with Iran and loose their cash-cow to a sustained missile barrage of epic proportions, that almost certainly will happen to them thereafter, in one form or another.

Not so fast- it appears that Russia is ready to acquiesce to the US/UK western banking syndicate and form some type of financial union. Which basically means it is very likely Russia is ready to bow down to their new Globalist masters.

Don't be surprised. Larry Summers visits the Kremlin all the time. The reason everything happens so damned slowly is because it has been planned for decades and they have learned not to spook the sheep until slaughter.

"... Assad stated that his government had not yet found any partners willing to back a solution to Syria’s ongoing crisis. However, he did thank Russia, China and Iran for not “interfering in Syrian affairs.”

He also criticized the Syrian opposition, referring to the rebels as “Western puppets” and “terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda.” ..."

Bit of a second-hand reporting, but he's thanking them for not going against Damascus or making the situation worse. My guess is things will consolidate behind Damascus from here and more support will inevitably come for the Assad govt to make space for reforms to occur. Many people now realize this "al-qaeda" is a euphemism for the long-term but periodic US-Saudi-backed nexus with fostered Islamic radicals, to achieve crass geopolitical aims.

More likely the Chinese will greatly increase all sorts of support to the Iranians, who will then provide more support to Damascus. Iran has already directly stated that Turkey is going to pay a price for continuing to channel support to the 'rebels' in Syria. So some form of payback is on the way for Turkey. It remains to be seen what is done to Jordan, Saudis and gulf states for supporting this bastardry.

What he said:

"… Syria has always been, and will remain, a free and sovereign country that won't accept submission and tutelage. That is why it has been a nuisance for the West, so they sought to take advantage of internal events to drive Syria out of the political equation in the region to get rid of this irksome problem and to strike at the culture of resistance and turn us into subordinates. But the West is not the entire international community, as there are world countries, namely Russia, China and the BRICS countries, and many other countries which won't agree to meddling in the internal affairs of countries and destabilizing the region based on their principles, interests and care for the people's freedom in determining their destiny. To those countries I extend my thanks, namely to Russia, China and Iran, and to all those who stood by the Syrian people to determine their own destiny. …"

Yep, that's how I see it. Last 12 yrs Russia and China have watched rapidly increasing US imperialism in the ME, and have been using that time to build up their military strength. Now they feel ready to take on US in that region, and their alliance is pretty strong, pledging their mutual defense of Iran some time ago.

I still believe Iran will be the big one where all hell breaks loose if Israhell or US foolishly decide to invade, and they see what's happening in Syria as US buildup for it, so they have to intervene now.

I believe we're wacthing the buildup to thermonuclear WWIII. I cant imagine ANA holding that card back much longer when "nuclear" is their middle name.

I'm talking simple reality. In many of these countries, dictatorship was the only thing repressing sectarian violence and fundamentalism, as the disappointing results of the Arab Spring shows.

So if you are a democracy-loving moderate young student in one of these countries, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Neither side is palatable.

But hey, why engage in nuanced debate here on ZH? It's easier to blather some stuff about how everything is the fault of the US joos and NWO and downvote. I swear this site has some of the smartest people in the world, and at the same time some of the most brainless automatons.

+1 and often it depends on the subject - some commentators have incredibly smart comments on some matters and incredibly stupid ones on others

some of it is explainable with a certain "infantilization" of society (which historically goes hand in hand with individualism) , but most of it is related to lack of responsability, and a focus on narrow subjects on the workplace and in private life

oh, and of course the social media "up/down-voting" leads to an interesting bias

Assad once again blamed the west for provoking and "facilitating" the rebellion, which even the NYT admits is being orchestrated by Al Qaeda, which naturally begs the question: just what is Al Qaeda to the US and to its intelligence agencies - foe or ally?

Syria seemed to be fine for years until "attention" got turned to them. Regime change and all that.

After their victory in Libya, the jihadists need somewhere new to continue their holy war. Since the goal is to die ina holy war, as long as there is one jihadist alive, there will be a holy war. However, they continue to recruit more members as they go along, insuring the jihad never ends.

How about the UN, is this not what much of our plundered wealth is suppose to go to. A feckless mob of Blue Helmeted "peace keepers." For fucks sake, if the Blue Helmets can't prove themselves as the keepers of the peace in little ol Syria the what hopes do they have. Wait, I know, if there is lttle expended and destroyed hardware how will Lockeed Martin make their nut?

I remember when the UN was sent everywhere in the 70's and 80's to stand in the middle, note how little their services are being requested of late. Thats right mother fuckers, you can't make real money, squander lives and surgically strike a shoe shine boy with the dipshit refs running around.

When the UN was formed in 1945, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom had three votes. As the UK decolonized countries, they were made voting members of the United Nations.

...

By the end of 1989, over 41 countries had been de-colonized. Every time a country was spun off, it received a vote at the UN and at any of the other international bodies they joined.

...

Do the British still rule? Yes. The U.S. has one vote at the UN while the British have the potential of 54 votes. They have 45 at the IMF, 44 at the World Bank, 46 at the World Trade Organization, 2 in the Group of eight heads of State, 2 in the Group of Seven Finance Ministers, 28 at the International Organization of Security Commission, and 38 at the Bank for International Settlements.

Recall... "I care not what puppet is placed on the throne of The Empire upon which the sun never sets. Whoever controls the money supply of The Empire, controls it. And I control the Money Supply." - Baron Nathan Rothschild.

edit2: nm i cant even be bothered. as usual, you post nothing but sophistry. for once it would be great if you could actually address the topic and points made. but this time i cant be bothered. you are a oneliner pony.

Russia has placed its super-effective high-speed Iskander missiles in Syria

Iskander vs Patriot, as Pepe Escobar says in Asia Times Online

Even the Israeli journalists are admitting Assad can last a long time, he might even win, tho it will be bloody

One of Assad's tactics is letting the US-backed 'rebels' control big stretches of territory, so the locals can see what thugs and murderers they are ... helps solidify support for Assad over the mercenaries backed by the West

Fascinating coverage of Syria on Asia Times Online, here from Pepe Escobar

al Qaeda has many a offspring today. The warbling infectious sirocco forever stalling in Libya, has Egypt in a maelstrom? Why Qaddafi [ http://www.jassimtaqui.com/2011/09/conspiracy-of-rothschild-bankers.html ]? Was it his gold? Or was it that his ideological political programs of a better society were working-- not only for Libya but for his surrounding African neighbors? We'll never know thanks to Obama via 'Hillary the Useless'!

These are terrorist groups we've heard little about in the MSM... that are coming of age!

If Iskander are present (which is a big 'if'); the navigation during flight is inertial and probably GLONASS as well, which the Russians have been rapidly further developing and deploying. But terminal homing is optical/IR (probably with laser designation also). Range is at least 450km, and a variant with about 600km range was under development in 2005, and expected to be fielded in 2010-2011. Has a large warhead ~800kg. Accuracy is 5 to 7 meters and can pull up to 30Gs in maneuvering to evade an anti-ballistic missile system.

But more importantly it's likely Iskander has an anti-ship capability as well, and the US Navy would need to presume that it does, which would require carriers to stand-off at ranges that would render naval air power mostly ineffective. So >if< Iskander is present it's a serious warning of Russian commitment.

The biggest threat to humans following WW3 wouldn't be the nukes... it would be the nuclear reactors going kaboom. Funny how all those nuclear war is winnable theoreticians never included that little tidbit of information into their calculations.

Belgium = 7 reactors

Canada = 17 reactors (+3 on the way)

China = 15 reactors (+25 on the way)

Czech Republic = 6 reactors

France = 58 reactors (+1 on the way)

Germany = 9 reactors

Hungary = 4 reactors

India = 20 reactors (+7 on the way)

Japan = 55 reactors (+3 on the way)

Pakistan = 3 reactors (+2 on the way)

Romania = 2 reactors

Russia = 33 reactors (+10 on the way)

Slovakia = 4 reactors (+2 on the way)

Slovenia = 1 reactor

South Korea = 23 reactors (+4 on the way)

Spain = 8 reactors

Sweden = 10 reactors

Switzerland = 5 reactors

Taiwan = 6 reactors (+2 on the way)

Ukraine = 15 reactors

UK = 16 reactors

US = 104 reactors (+1 on the way)

Yep the Northern Hemisphere is FUCKED for the next few million years if WW3 breaks out.

there's no need for WW3 for the Northern Hemisphere to be FUCKED for the next few million years. All it needs is any reason, be it natural economic or otherwise, that there's no staff to maintain any one of those 481 reactors for a period of time...

My understanding is that the air masses of the N Hemisphere and the S Hemisphere mix very slowly, same with the Pacific Ocean waters. In any case, you would likely have YEARS longer to live down there. As long as you have some money to take with you (or already there).

You do not have to be in the 1% to set up a place in the Perus, Chiles, Panamas or Uruguays down there. You DO have to plan, visit, save and learn the language to wherever you might go.

Coincidence.Nothing but more of those pesky coincidences.Like the OMB mentioning late on a Friday night about the extra unaccounted for 600 billiontrilliongadzillion or whatever additional costs to the tax deal..

Or like building7

Or the gold under the others

Or the pentagram crash wiping out the bazillion trillion records of the missing money

Or any one of a number of them other coincidences...

(Just go back to sleep, peasantry. Get your well deserved rest before slaving tomorrow.)

Planes can be launched from Europe (and elsewhere) and refueled in flight. The pilots will set the plane on autopilot and sleep until it's time to refuel. Then they take another nap until time to drop the payload. Afterwards another nap after all that hard work. Modern Warfare.

At the risk of upsetting the Kool-Aid zombified chauvinists, allow me to flag some basic historic facts... Posed as a question:

Between the British, French, American and Chinese empires, which 3 of 4 have a very long history of wars and imperialism far beyond their own borders (and legitimate need for security by geographic proximity)?

This business -- false-flag, MSM propaganda -- of "Them" seeking war against the US is 100% Elite BS. And detracts from more cogent arguments. I suggest, it's time for smart people to treat it accordingly.